HPH Cup finalists Heworth have been eliminated from the competition for playing ineligible players in their semi-final.

The team they beat in the semi-final, North Cave, will now take their place in the final against Copmanthorpe on Sunday, July 31.

The problem arose because three of their younger players, who play for the Vale side, were used to bolster the club’s sides in the York and District Senior League earlier in the season for a number of matches which made them ineligible for the Cave game.

Vale League interim chairman Shane Hargrave said: “The League understands the cup player compliance difficulties encountered by teams with first and second XIs in YSL and, while a certain tolerance can be exercised for league fixtures, cup rules have to be strictly adhered to.

“Although it is accepted that the club had no intention of gaining unfair advantage by moving the juniors between teams, there has been a clear breach of HPH Cup Rule 3.1.1 and the league must follow precedent established over many years.”

The venue of the final has been switched from Woodhouse Grange to Hemingbrough because the first team pitch at Grange is no longer available for the final.